Preston Lauterbach is author of the American music classic The Chitlin’ Circuit (2011) as well as two secret histories of Black culture, Beale Street Dynasty (2015) and Bluff City (2019). Preston has co-authored three memoirs with significant figures in Black music, including Brother Robert (2020) with the stepsister of bluesman Robert Johnson, Timekeeper (2021) with Memphis soul drummer Howard Grimes, and the Blind Boys of Alabama biography Spirit of the Century, out in March 2024. His works have earned book of the year recognition from the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Rolling Stone.
You can follow Preston’s work by subscribing to The Chitlin’ Circuit Substack
The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll
“Lauterbach’s tribute . . . is welcome and overdue.” ―Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
A Wall Street Journal Best Nonfiction book of 2011
Beale Street Dynasty
The vivid history of Beale Street―a lost world of swaggering musicians, glamorous madams, and ruthless politicians―and the battle for the soul of Memphis.
“Beale Street Dynasty” adds a fascinating chapter to civil rights history…this gracefully written book never loses sight of the fun…”
James Gavin, The New York Times
Review by Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
Bluff City:
The Secret Life of Photographer Ernest Withers
The little-known story of an iconic photographer, whose work captured―and influenced―a critical moment in American history.
Bluff City in The Intercept
Bluff City in Newsweek
Bluff City in The New Yorker
Brother Robert
An intimate memoir by blues legend Robert Johnson's stepsister, including new details about his family, music, influences, tragic death, and musical afterlife
A Rolling Stone-Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020
“[Brother Robert} book does much to pull the blues master out of the fog of myth.”—Rolling Stone
Brother Robert in Vanity Fair
Timekeeper
The first-person insider account of the birth and expansion of the Memphis Sound, told by Howard Grimes, the celebrated house drummer from the early days at both iconic Memphis soul studios, Stax Records and Hi Records.
Elias Leight’ piece on Timekeeper in Rolling Stone